


blue eyeshadow

by floatingaway4



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Kidfic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29230077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4
Summary: This is a gift for Gretchen, who asked for more kidfic. This is just fluffy domestic sap featuring the kids! Hope you like it!!Also, I'm genuinely embarrassed that I gave them these specific kids and never thought of this plot until...last week? Sad.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 60
Kudos: 157





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [allmylovesatonce](https://archiveofourown.org/users/allmylovesatonce/gifts).



> Thanks to Evie for being an excellent beta and cheerleader and a fun person to talk with about fic....and language... and culture...and politics...and food....and pets...

“They’re all qualified attorneys with civil rights experience, so it’s just about who would be the best fit right now.”

“Did you have a preference?” 

“Yeah, I had a favorite but I don’t know if we can meet her salary demands,” Alex says, as he scrubs at a particularly stubborn spot on the kitchen counter. 

“We’ve had that issue at the shelter as well. Nonprofits just can’t pay as much as large companies.”

Alex nods. He’s wearing one of Henry’s old Oxford t-shirts, because it smells like Henry and makes him feel like Henry’s there with him. Alex looks over toward his phone where it’s laying on the counter. “I hate losing good people but we have a pretty tight budget as it is. We don’t have a lot of wiggle room.” 

Henry’s voice rises out of the speaker. “I’m sure it’ll work out. You said they’re all good.” 

They’ve been doing this for a long time, when one of them is away on business. It’s their way of feeling like they’re home when they’re not. 

He’s been married for years now and Alex still wants to share every moment of his life with Henry. Even the mundane ones... _especially_ the mundane ones. The ones they never thought they’d have. 

“Yeah, I...umm…” 

Alex loses his train of thought, suddenly distracted. He can hear Jamie coming down the stairs, but can’t identify the rattling noise that accompanies each step. 

“Alex? Something wrong?” Henry asks. 

Jamie finally makes it downstairs and shuffles into the kitchen, and Alex just stares. He drops the towel he was cleaning with. 

“Papa, look! Ellie’s playing with me!” Jamie exclaims, holding out his arms. 

Alex presses his lips together, runs a hand over his face. He covers his mouth with his hand until he can control himself. 

  
Finally, he clears his throat and grins. “I see that, J.” He has to bite his lip. His voice quivers as he tries not to laugh. “Hey, babe, call back on video. You have to see this.” 

“What? Is he alright?” 

Alex nods, forgetting for a moment that Henry can’t actually see him. “Yep, fine, just call back.” His voice is an octave higher than normal. 

Alex hears the call drop and his phone immediately buzzes again. He swipes to answer and holds the phone up so Henry can see their son. 

Henry laughs, startled, then tries to cover. “Jamie, what, erm, what...happened to you?” 

Jamie is still visibly excited, bouncing up and down on his toes, beaming at his dads. “Ellie’s playing with me!” 

“What, um, what are you two playing?” Alex squeaks out. He wipes the tears from the corners of his eyes. 

“Princess! I’m a princess and she’s a princess!” He waves his hands around, jostling the ten or twelve plastic bead necklaces draped around his neck. 

Alex turns the screen around to look at Henry for a second, sees the bright joy in his eyes too. He turns the phone back around. 

“Well, yes you are!” Henry agrees happily. “I love your tutu.” 

Jamie bends himself in half to look down at the tutu, clearly overjoyed. His necklaces rattle whenever he moves. 

“And my dress!” he points. They both look. There is, indeed, a tangerine-colored dress under the sparkly purple tutu. 

“And I have a necklace like Papa!” Jamie announces. 

Alex grins, rubs his fingers over the ring and key beneath his shirt. “Yes, you do. Actually, you have more than me.” Jamie grins back at him. 

“That hat is just the perfect touch,” Alex adds. Jamie reaches up and strokes the brim of the huge blue straw hat. 

David trots into the kitchen just then, a curly red wig plopped sideways on his little head. He sits down and reaches up to paw it off. Alex smiles at him. “Aw, buddy, she got you too, huh?” 

Alex turns the phone for Henry to see. Jamie pulls his hat off and Alex does a double-take. “Wait, where did she get makeup?” Alex asks. He walks around the counter to look at Jamie’s face. “Oh, geez. This is marker.” He sighs. “Elizabeth! Come downstairs, please.” 

Alex hears soft, hesitant footsteps on the stairs. When she reaches the bottom, Ellie peers around the wall so only half her face is visible. “What?” 

Alex rolls his eyes, snaps his fingers and points to the floor beside him. “You know what. Come _here_.” He puts the phone down on the floor and turns Jamie’s face from side to side, trying to assess the damage. 

David scurries over and sniffs and snorts at the phone, giving Henry an excellent view of his nostrils. “David, hello mate! Who’s a good boy!” David wanders off, searching for the body that goes with the voice.

“Alex, I’m looking at the ceiling,” Henry mutters. 

Alex picks up his phone and shoves it at Jamie. “Here, talk to Daddy while I talk to your sister.” 

“Hi, Daddy!” 

“You look lovely, Jamie. How do you feel in your outfit?” Henry is asking as Alex moves away from them. David circles around Jamie, happy but confused. 

Ellie, wearing a black and white frilly dress and a tiara, is watching Alex warily. “He wanted to play with me, Papa.” 

Alex kneels down and takes a deep breath. “I’m not mad at you. I’m glad you were playing with your brother. I just want you to be careful with the markers, okay? If you get them in his eye…” he notices she’s wearing the same blue ‘eyeshadow’ as her brother, “Or your eye, that could be bad and you might have to go to the doctor. So no marker on your face, okay.” He smiles at her. “But you both look beautiful.” 

He stands, but realizes he’s not done. He bends over to look her straight in the eye and ask one more question. “Is there marker anywhere else I need to know about?” 

She looks guilty, so Alex just waits her out. When he was a kid, he thought parents could read minds. Now he realizes little kids are just extremely bad liars. 

She doesn’t say anything. He can practically see the little gears turning in her head. 

“On the sheets?” he asks, watching her face carefully. 

She shakes her head. 

He thinks back to his own childhood. “On the walls?” 

She nods slowly. “We were drawing our castle.” 

Alex drops his head and sighs. They only buy washable markers, but some of the colors come off better than others. 

He takes her hand. “Come on, princess, you can help me clean it off later. Now, say hi to Daddy and show him your outfit.” 

Ellie still looks a little sheepish but gets behind Jamie and waves into the phone. “Hi, Daddy.”

“Hello, angel. I see you’ve been playing with your brother.” 

She nods. 

“Well, you both look perfectly lovely.” Ellie bites her lip and smiles and Alex is struck yet again by how much she looks like Henry. “What’s your favorite part of your outfit?” 

“My crown,” she says, pointing at her head. 

Henry nods. “It’s very regal, truly fit for a princess. Now, did Papa talk to you about using markers on your skin?” 

She nods. “No markers on the face,” she informs him seriously. 

“Maybe Papa and I will see if we can find you some safe makeup to play with, but only for playing dress-up in the house, okay?” 

“Okay!“ Ellie and Jamie both shout. 

Alex’s hand enters the frame when he takes his phone back. “Why don’t you two go upstairs and play and I’ll be up in a minute to take some pictures and then give you a bath,” Alex suggests. “El, hold your dress up when you walk up the stairs so you don’t trip.” 

They take off, giggling and rattling as they go. 

Alex stares into the phone, finally letting out the laugh he’s been holding in this whole time. Henry is already doubled over. 

“Ugh, hang on, David slimed my phone.” Alex wipes the screen off on his shirt, still laughing. “Big sisters are diabolical,” he says when his face pops back into view. 

“On the contrary, he seems very happy.” 

“Wait til he’s older,” Alex laughs. 

Henry waves a hand in front of his face dismissively. “It’ll give him something to complain about when he’s trying to woo his future love.” 

“Oh my god, I forgot about that. We did talk about them dressing us up!” 

Henry’s eyes crinkle when he laughs, in a way that makes Alex want to stroke the laugh lines with his thumbs, then with his lips. “We did, love.” Henry lowers his voice. “I was enchanted by every little personal detail you shared with me, you know.” 

“Me too,” Alex says softly. “Made me feel closer to you.” 

Henry’s smile is warm and loving and Alex feels himself blushing. He shakes his head. How can Henry still _do_ this to him?

He sighs. He’d love to stay here and make heart eyes at his husband, but duty calls. “Well, apparently they drew on the wall. I need to go up and inspect the damage. I should’ve known they were too quiet up there.” He suddenly remembers what Henry said earlier. “Hey, are we really gonna give them makeup?”  
  


Henry shrugs. “I think if it’s safe on their skin and they understand when to play with it, I don’t see any problem. I’m more concerned with them getting ink from those markers in their mouth.” 

“Or their eye. Did you see Jamie’s blue eyeshadow?” 

Henry laughs again, wiping tears from his eyes. 

“You know, Alex, we really need to stop them from dressing like that. It’s very dangerous.” His face looks so sincere, Alex is caught a little off guard. He tilts his head at the screen. 

“Because if we don’t, they’ll grow up to be adults who….” Henry leans in closer to his phone and deepens his voice in warning, “... _over-accessorize_.” 

Henry’s ridiculous giggle is adorable and contagious and Alex laughs so hard he starts crying again.

********************** 

A little before midnight in London, Henry’s phone beeps. He swipes the screen and sees a series of pictures of Alex and the kids on Ellie’s bed. Some of the marker has been cleaned off but Jamie still looks like an ‘80s movie star. Alex is wearing a pink feather boa, Ellie’s tiara, and huge rhinestone earrings. He’s wearing rings too, his hands framing his face to show them off. Most of them are Ellie’s play jewelry, but Henry recognizes the familiar gold one on his pinky. 

Henry zooms in and can see they’re all wearing red nail polish. Ellie has added a huge pair of neon green sunglasses to her outfit. Jamie appears to be wearing his sparkly tutu on his head. 

Alex and Ellie are doing a series of pouty model poses in each picture. Jamie is grinning like a fool at the camera, just happy to be included. 

**_i got a new stylist_ **

**_think this’ll get me into Vogue?_ **

  
  


**_Eh. You could use some blue eyeshadow_ ** **😊**

**_God I miss you all_ **

**_Hug and kiss them for me_ **

  
  


**_as soon as you get home, we’re dressing you up too_ **

**_oooooh blue eyeshadow on_ **

**_you would be amazing_ **

**_maybe some mascara and eyeliner too_ **

  
  


**_Reminds me of this one time in uni…._ **

  
  


**_hahaha_ **

**_wait_ **

**_what?_ **


	2. Friends from uni

Alex tightens his arm around Henry’s waist, desperately clinging to sleep. But something keeps tugging at his shirt sleeve, insistently dragging him to the surface. 

“Papa...papa….” 

“Hunh?” he groans. Ellie is standing at the side of the bed, her favorite stuffed toy clutched to her chest. 

“Whazzit, baby girl?” he asks, voice slurred with sleep. 

“I had a bad dream.” 

Alex runs a hand over his face. “You need to sleep with us?” 

She nods. 

He pats the mattress. “Come on, then.” 

Henry got in late from London a few hours before and is dead to the world, so Alex doesn't even try to make him move over. Instead, he shifts himself to the edge of the bed and plunks Ellie between them. 

“Papa?” 

“Mmmh?” Alex says, really trying not to wake up. 

“Daddy’s snoring,” Ellie whispers, as Alex tucks her in. 

“Shhh,” he reminds her, petting her hair. “He only does that when he’s really tired.” 

“He’s tired when he comes back from England,” she says wisely. 

“Yeah. It’s a long flight. Go to sleep now, El.” 

She snuggles up under Alex’s chin and he wraps her in his arms.

****

Something whacks Alex in the face and he wakes up with a start. “Wha--”

He quickly takes in his surroundings and realizes he’s been hit in the face by Ellie’s stuffed unicorn. She’s sprawled between them, both Henry and Alex having moved over in their sleep to give her space. Two parentheses, three feet apart. 

Alex looks over at Henry, who blinks awake at the same time. 

“Hey,” Alex whispers.

Henry just smiles at him in response. He leans over and kisses Ellie’s temple. “When did she get here?” 

“About five years ago,” Alex says with a smirk. 

Henry rolls his eyes. “You know, at the palace, I have a huge bed all to myself.” 

Alex reaches over Ellie’s head and takes Henry’s hand, plays with his fingers. “Like that, do ya?” 

Henry shakes his head without lifting it from the pillow. “No.” 

Ellie’s leg kicks out and whacks Henry on his thigh. 

“Well, maybe a little,” he smiles. “She’s surprisingly strong for a little person.” 

Alex nods. “We should stop feeding her.” 

“Obviously.”

They stare at each other, still sleepy, hands intertwined on the pillow above their daughter’s head. 

“We missed you,” Alex whispers. 

“I miss my family every time I walk out that door.” Henry shakes his head, trying to wake up, and remembers something. “Bea is coming over sometime next month.” 

“Good,” Alex says. “Maybe she can help me find some pictures of you in eyeliner.” 

Henry smiles, thinking back to their conversation two days before. His voice is deep and rough, still husky with sleep. “Hmm, I don’t think she’d have any of those, darling.” 

Alex closes his eyes, thinks a moment. 

“Pez?” 

Henry smirks at him. “Who else would’ve convinced me to put on makeup?” 

“Maybe your friend Vodka?” 

Ellie shifts again and they both wait for her to settle. 

“Oh, vodka was _definitely_ involved,” Henry whispers. 

Ellie suddenly flops onto her side and wraps an arm around Henry. He buries his face in the crook of her neck. “God, I miss that little kid smell when I’m gone.” 

It isn’t long before Jamie pads down the hall and jumps in bed like a kid cannonballing into a pool, squealing at Henry having magically appeared overnight. David joins the party, curling up on top of Henry’s feet so he can’t sneak away again. 

Alex gets up to go to the bathroom. When he comes back in the room he just has to stand there and _look_ for a second. Jamie is in Henry’s lap and Ellie is pressed against his side, the comforter billowing around them like snowdrifts. The kids are listening to him read _Green Eggs and Ham_ in his sweet, posh accent. It’s Jamie's favorite story at the moment and Alex and Henry have read it so many times they practically have it memorized. 

Henry glances up at him, all rumpled clothes and bedhead hair, and smiles a tired, imperfect, private smile. Alex looks at his husband and his kids and his home and his life, and ...well, Alex is so in love he could die. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no real plans to write the flashback to university...so if anyone else wants to, go for it!


End file.
